Where Those of Wit and Learning Will Always Find Their Kind
by thekeeperofkeys
Summary: Helena Ravenclaw is jealous of her mother's beauty and intelligence. She's always wanted what her mother has and she believes that she knows the key to obtaining it. Helena steals her mother's diadem and Apparates to Albania. What happens when Rowena, while lying on her death bed, sends the Baron of Slytherin, a man in love with Helena, to find her and bring her back? Please R&R!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

After completing her magical education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Helena Ravenclaw was considered to be one of the most intelligent and beautiful women of her age. As the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, she was recognized as a very admirable and important person in the magical population.

However, this proved not to be enough for her and she grew jealous of her mother's power and beauty and did something that jolted her mother's opinion of her out of the so perfectly proportioned balance. Something that her mother would never have believed of her. Something that she couldn't even believe of herself…


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Helena Ravenclaw awoke in the morning, her vision distorted. She had gone to sleep late last night and wished she hadn't. She was ravenous. Slowly, she willed herself to get out of bed and get dressed. Her robes fell around her as she looked around the circular room that was the Ravenclaw girls' dormitory. Even though she was finished with Hogwarts, her mother allowed her to stay for a short while to decide what she going to do next.

She walked towards the staircase to her right, tripping over robes. Her tiredness was making her dizzy. When she entered the dimly lit common room, she spied three second year girls in the corner, next to the window, playing chess. Another three fourth year boys were sitting by the fireplace, mulling over the pile of paper sitting on the marble table that looked to her like overdue homework. She sometimes wondered how some people were picked to be in Ravenclaw house. This was meant to be a house of unique and clever people. Of course if her 'goddess' of a mother had seen this much overdue homework sitting on a table, she would've had an anxiety attack.

Her mother, who was so perfect in every way, always taking credit for everything and no one even acknowledged Helena. Others say that Helena was of no comparison to her mother. Only the Baron of Slytherin recognized her presence in the shade of her mother yet he was in love with her and that did not count in Helena's opinion. She heard a yelp of pain that brought her back to where she was standing, in the middle of the Ravenclaw common room, still watching the group of girls playing chess. One of the competitors had been checkmated. She had groaned but given her seat up to the next girl. Helena sighed and turned to face the large, wooden door of the common room when she saw the bust of her mother. It depicted her as more elegant and beautiful than she truly was. The owl was a sign of wisdom and Helena thought,

'Only mother could've thought up of the design of this most modest and humble statue,' she smiled to herself as her sarcastic tone conveyed annoyance.

She opened the wooden door of the common room and strolled out into the hall where she turned right and began walking through the gas-lamp lit hall to the moving staircases.

'Another of mother's intelligent and creative innovations,' she thought as she trampled down the staircases. When she reached the bottom, she walked down the marble staircase and came to a burst of noise when she entered the Great Hall to join the rest of the school for a late breakfast. Her mother saw her from the front table and kindly waved. Helena returned her polite gesture with a malevolent glint in her eyes and made a hurried over to the Ravenclaw table where she sat on the far edge of it, as far from Rowena as possible. She was wearing that beautiful diadem again, the only thing that Helena valued of her mother. Of course she insisted on wearing it to breakfast.

As she was looking at it, the beautiful sapphire laid into the middle of the diadem, a conniving idea came to her. However, she knew that she couldn't steal it. She couldn't develop the courage to do something so extreme, however, she knew how much more witty and beautiful it would make her, maybe even more so than her mother. She saw her mother's now warning eyes staring at her and Helena uncomfortably shifted her gaze to a rack of toast, still feeling her mother's suspecting stare on her.

After finishing her breakfast, she walked out of the castle and made her progressive way toward the greenhouses. She sat down next to one where a Herbology class was being undertaken, opened her History of Magic book from her seventh year at Hogwarts and began reading about goblin wars. She could hear loud and rough footsteps coming up the hill towards where she was sitting, against the wall of Greenhouse 3. The person's face was distinguishable when he was about halfway up the hill. It was the Baron of Slytherin. If she had known who it was earlier, she would've stood up and walked behind the greenhouses making her way straight back to the castle but it was evidently too late for that as the Baron had spotted her and waved.

She returned the wave but only half-heartedly. She didn't want him to think that she was returning it enthusiastically because she wasn't as interested in him as he was in her. When he reached her he offered his hand to her.

"Greetings Helena! What would you say to a leisurely stroll through the grounds m'lady? It's an awfully beautiful day, don't you agree?" he asked.

"Baron you must understand something. The way you feel about me… I'll never feel that about you that way. This may come across as harsh but I will never love you. Accept that. Good day," she said as she stood up and brushed the dirt from the fine silk of her robes. With that, she turned on her heels and walked toward the hill with a sense of finality. However, the Baron seized her by the arm in a tight grip.

"Helena, I love you. I'm in love with you. Why can't you accept that?" he asked, pleading almost, yet his grip remained fierce and unmoving.

"Let go of me I've already told you… I will never feel about you that way," she said, struggling to wriggle out of his grip, yet he still clutched at her as though his life depended on it.

"Baron you're frightening me. Please let go!" she exclaimed in a panicked voice.

His expression turned fierce.

"I asked you why you can't accept the fact that I love you, Helena," he said, very softly, although his tone conveyed danger.

"I have accepted it! I just haven't chosen to act on it because as I've told you at least a dozen times, I don't love you! Now please release me!" she screamed at him, half in anger and half in fear. His features settled back to normal but a crease appeared in his forehead. She could tell she had hurt him but she didn't care. She turned around with a flustered sigh and stormed off down the hill, leaving the Baron confused and hurt.

The Baron of Slytherin stood next to Greenhouse 3, flabbergasted. How could she do this to him? Why would she do this? He reached out to her, being honest about his feelings and she turned him down, quite aggressively at that. He released a defeated sigh as he slouched his shoulders and walked towards the hill to go back to the castle. As he was walking, a Slytherin student approached him cautiously.

"Baron… the other Slytherins say that you have your own special type of magic… is that true?" he asked, cowering a little.

"No I don't have any special type of magic," he said it sarcastically, "and even if I did, what makes you think that I would show a greedy little first year such as yourself?" he said, looking at the first year with wide eyes as though expecting an answer.

"I'm sorry sir, I don't know. Good day to you," he said and swiftly walked off in the direction of the Quidditch pitch. The Baron smiled to himself and continued to walk towards the castle, his path now even terrain.

When he reached the huge, oak double doors, he stepped inside and walked towards the Great Hall to have lunch. He was walking through the middle of the hall, between two tables, when was again interrupted. He felt a light tap on his shoulder and made to turn around. As soon as he was facing Rowena Ravenclaw, she slapped him hard in the face. He couldn't see it, but his cheek was quickly going red and the area around his cheekbone had a bruise.

She stared at him with furious eyes.

"How dare you! You filth! Don't you ever even think about my daughter again or else I swear I will end your existence at Hogwarts School with a snap of my fingers!" she shouted, outraged.

The Baron was shocked to see her in such a rage.

"But-but-how-how did you hear? How did you see?" he asked, stuttering in his nervous silence with the entirety of the Great Hall staring at the both of them. Some students were chuckling and others, mostly the Ravenclaws, were staring at them, completely and utterly petrified to their very core.

"Do you think that I'm a fool Baron? I was sitting in the Herbology greenhouse behind you, reviewing the professor's performance as an educator when I heard very fast chatter outside. I assumed of course that it was an argument so I diverted my attention from the Herbology class to the argument on the other side of the wall!" she shouted, now to the entire Hall rather than only the Baron, who looked ashamed as he tried to bury his face in his robes.

I recognized the familiar voice of this piece of muck that one would remove from the underside of their shoe and that of my lovely and pure daughter! They were immersed in a heated conversation about love! Love I tell you! And this filthy beast," she pointed him out to all the pupils and professors in the hall, "was attempting to take advantage of my daughter! My Helena I tell you!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Little did she know that Helena had heard the entire conversation and was standing near the doorway of the Great Hall. She saw her mother standing next to the Baron halfway down the hall between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Her mother also saw this and turned to look at her, her shimmering black hair swaying wildly around. She opened her mouth to say something but Helena shouted at her, to general shock.

"What are you doing?" She fiercely hissed at her in embarrassment while taking slow, careful steps in the direction of her mother.

"I'm protecting you from this scoundrel. I want you never to walk the halls of the castle by yourself. Do you understand me? I've only now come to realize that it's not safe with this type of filth standing around. He merely wants to take your purity, Helena. He does not love you! He is only saying that to…" but she was cut off by Helena's enraged protest. She had now reached her mother and towered over her. She was taking full control and she loved that someone was finally standing up to her egotistical mother who reveled in her supposed beauty, riches and cleverness.

"Do you think that I need your help? Do you really think that I can't handle myself? I'm only the daughter of the most celebrated witch of her age! I'm only the daughter of the most intelligent and beautiful witch that the wizarding world has ever seen!" She yelled sarcastically.

"My dear I'm only trying to help…" Rowena continued, but again, was cut off by her daughter.

"I don't need your help! I can fight my own fights! I can handle my own life, mother!" she screamed. Rowena stared, incredulously. She wasn't one to put up a fight, as Helena knew.

"So be it then," she said and walked towards the entrance of the hall and turned left to walk up the marble staircase, most likely retreating to her office.

Helena too, was extremely put off and unsettled by everyone's stares and she retreated toward the door of the hall, one hundred or so eyes following her progress. She held the tears in all the way to chamber outside the Great Hall before they came flooding down her cheeks in a gush of warmth. She looked up and the doorway to the hall was open. The students were watching her sob uncontrollably and the Baron began to walk toward her. Seeing this, she fled the chamber, climbing up the marble staircase and making her way toward the common room, her goal being to enter the dormitory and be away from the rest of the world for at least a few hours.

Rowena Ravenclaw had walked up the moving staircases and reached the hall in which her small room and office was found. She stopped dead and placed a hand on the brick wall of the hall. Tears came to her eyes. Her sobs carried into the rest of the rooms in the hall and someone burst their own door open. She didn't know who it was and she didn't care.

She heard a melancholy voice attempting to comfort her.

"Ma'am what happened? Are you alright?" She shifted her gaze towards the sound. She was able to recognize the soothing voice in a heartbeat.

"Michael," she sighed. He was standing in the middle of hall next to a lamp, the light casting an unnatural glow over his face She fell into his open arms. Michael was a fellow educator and someone who Rowena had formed a friendship with. "You really don't know what happened? I could've sworn the entirety of the school was transfixed on the fight…" she said.

"No I heard. I was merely trying to be polite. Is there anything I could do for you? Perhaps a mug of my prime hot chocolate will rest your bones and allow you a goodnight's sleep?" he asked, smiling and trying to cheer her up.

"No I'm fine. I suppose I just need some rest," she announced.

"Very well ma'am. I suppose I'll see you in the morning?" he said.

"Yes I suppose I'll see you then Michael," she replied kindly.

"Goodnight," he whispered.

"Goodnight," they both turned to walk into opposing doors in the hall when Rowena turned around.

"And Michael…" she trailed off.

"Hm?" he asked, politely.

"Thank you," she finished and then turned away, as though embarrassed she said it.

He merely nodded, spun away from her and walked into the wooden door that led into his small, circular office. She stood watching the door for a moment before she too, turned around, opened the door and went into her office. For some reason, the square room with the Persian carpet and the unmade bed with the fireplace laid into the wall opposite it had never seemed more inviting and comfortable to her.

She walked over to her bed where she lay down, wanting nothing but rest. She removed her diadem from her head and tossed it onto her flimsy wooden desk. The guilt was eating her up and she couldn't stand it. She had just humiliated her daughter in the Great Hall in front of almost all the pupils in the school. However it was for a good cause: to keep the Baron, who was obsessed with her, away! How could she yell at her in such a manner? She tried to sleep several times but couldn't make herself calm down. Tears were slowly making their way down her face. Had her duties as a professor and a mother clashed? How was she to regain her daughter's trust? She knew however that someday, Helena would forgive her. She had a kind, caring and respectful soul and she does not hate easily, no matter how betrayed or hurt she felt…

The next morning Helena woke up from a harsh night's sleep. She couldn't make herself rest until the sun rose and even then she woke up early. She couldn't see anyone else in the dormitory so, thankfully they had all left and she could be alone with her thoughts. She had to pay for the damage she'd done. Her mother was stuck-up and arrogant about herself but she didn't deserve the treatment she received from her daughter that night.

She willed herself to pull her legs out of the comfortable, warm sheets and slide on her clothes; her silk robes falling around her knees were cold and unwelcoming. She so wanted to slide back in between the sheets of her unmade bed but she knew what the moralistic thing to do was: to go straight to her mother's office and apologize… after she'd had some breakfast, as her stomach was uncontrollably rumbling. She started the day in the same fashion as the day before, walking down to the stairs of the dormitory, through the door of the common room and down the moving staircases. She found herself in the Great Hall and noticed, with yet another punch of guilt, that her mother's chair was regrettably and most noticeably empty.

She tried to ignore it but it stayed at the back of her mind for the entire time she was chewing on her toast. When she finished, she rose and with the gazes of one hundred students' on her, she held her up high and walked swiftly across the stone-flagged floor to the entry chamber. She then made her way up to the hall in which her mother's room was found and knocked three times on the door made out of heavy oak. She heard nothing. She knocked again and heard only the sound of her knocks echoing through the narrow, concrete hall.

"Alohomora," she whispered, to which she heard the rusty lock unclick and saw the door swing open with a squeak. She peeked into the room at first and saw that it was as perfectly proportioned and clean as usual. All the books in the book shelf were in order of size and thickness, the fireplace, she could see, had been snuffed out, a sign that the house elves had been in the room. Everything was perfectly clean and neat. This notion was thrown out of her mind when she saw her mother lying on her bed. It seemed as though the elves, with failure, had attempted to make the bed with her under it as the sheets were pulled up as straight as possible underneath her skinny form.

"Mother?" she whispered, more to herself than to her mother. "Mother," she said again in a louder and more commanding voice, all the while cautiously approaching her, hoping that she had done nothing irrational to herself. Had she commanded an elf to put her under a sleeping charm? Helena now started poking her, to which there was complete lack of reaction. She would've had better luck while trying to wake up the bust of the same woman in the Ravenclaw common room.

Helena now became panicked. Was there an opened vial of poison on her desk? Had she killed herself? She looked up with her expertly searching eyes and spotted it on the wooden desk, with which the weight of the paper and books upon it was bound to collapse in a heap of useless wooden planks some day soon. It wasn't what she was looking for. Not a vial of poison, nor a knife, nor a sword or weapon of any kind. Only her mother's diadem which she so longed for. She eyed it greedily and took a spacious step over to the desk where it was lying. She remained leaning against the desk, looking down at it as though it was a dangerous object that could cause serious trouble. Little did she know that it was going to cost her much of what she values in her life.

She placed it on her head and it lightly fell on, a perfect fit. She clasped her hands together near her stomach, forcing her robes to tighten around her waist. She adopted a regal stance and turned to her right where there was a full body mirror. She stared at herself. She was breathtakingly beautiful and the diadem had completed her seemingly infinite beauty. She looked like a princess and she smiled. She loved the appearance that the diadem gave her. It resembled a missing limb to her Durga of beauty. If she could choose to have it on permanently, she would. All traces of guilt left her mind as she saw herself in the mirror.

She didn't know how her mother would react when she found out what Helena was about to do but she didn't care. She felt no guilt about her mother now. It was like the diadem was the solution to all her problems. She'd finally realized why her mother was so stuck-up and dreamy about herself. Did the diadem have some mort of magic in it? Or was this truly the way that the diadem made on feel? She heard the bed sheets moving against each other and saw in the mirror that her mother was stirring. She was alive after all and she was waking up. Helena had no time to think. She left the diadem on and spun towards the door as quickly as she could with only making a slight amount of noise.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As she was removing the diadem from her head, she felt someone's breath on her shoulders and turned around, flustered from surprise. She hid the diadem behind her back. She heard footsteps inside her mother's room and knew that if she didn't shake this person off quickly, she would be discovered as a thief and a liar.

"Michael, you…frightened me," she said, while taking in breath and sliding the diadem behind her back.

"Morning Miss Ravenclaw. A beautiful day don't you agree?" he asked.

"Michael it's pouring down rain," she replied, a little hesitant.

"I do adore this weather though," he said.

She was slightly confused yet she only wanted to get out of the uncomfortable and stressful place that she was in.

"I am extremely late for a… meeting," she spoke very quickly all the while sliding across the wall, feeling her robes catch on the stone, away from Michael.

"Good day to you then ma'am. And may I ask…" she didn't hear the rest as she had just rushed out of the hallway onto the brightly lit platform, awaiting the staircase's arrival.

As a result of her abrupt departure, Michael knocked on the Rowena Ravenclaw's door. Helena heard the shuffle of footsteps as she was standing only a few meters away from the doorway however Michael could not see her as she had turned a turned a corner after reaching the end of the hallway. By some miracle, the staircase appeared under her feet and she sprinted down it, taking two steps at a time. She could feel beads of nervous sweat sliding down her neck and cheek as she reached the bottom of the stairs and left through the large, double oak doors of the castle, fearing it would be he last time she laid her hands on the doors of the magnificent castle that she treasured so much.

Rowena Ravenclaw heard several knocks on her door, however she was more preoccupied with something else. Her diadem was gone from her desk. She was positive she had left it there and became panicked when she noticed its disappearance. She was now running around the room, searching all four corners. She wasn't intoxicated the night before but perhaps she was drunk with the sadness and guilt of humiliating her daughter… Yet she was still absolutely sure she had left the wretched thing on her desk.

The knocking on the door was becoming frantic now; perhaps the person was becoming concerned. She walked to the door and opened it to see Michael. His eyes had a frantic glint in them.

"My dear woman I knocked several times why had you not opened the door? Surely you couldn't have been sleeping at this hour? Also, I noticed your absence from the Great Hall this morning. Is everything quite alright?" he asked all these questions quickly and panicked. It was too much for her to process; the absence of her most treasured prize, her friend's panicked interrogation and the guilt she felt for her daughter.

"Michael I… I…" she couldn't finish her sentence. She only fell into his arms and started sobbing. "It's gone Michael! The diadem has disappeared what am I going to do?" she asked. They walked into the room and stared around at the disheveled bed and untidy desk.

"My dear lady I… I can't understand. Your diadem is gone?" he asked, disbelieving.

"Yes! It's disappeared I can't find it oh please Michael help me I don't know what I'd do without it!" she yelled.

"It's all right Miss, we'll find it but…" he just remembered the curious incident he had just had with Helena, "Rowena, when Helena was in your room earlier, did she…" he was cut off.

"Helena didn't come here today why would she?" she asked, annoyed by his idiocy.

"Madam, I saw her merely minutes ago, leaving your room quite flustered as though she were in a hurry to leave," he finished and the realization came to him.

"She stole it?" Rowena asked.

"My lady I didn't see the diadem with her however, she was acting suspicious. She left before I could even finish greeting her!" he exclaimed. Rowena could not believe what she was hearing.

"No. She wouldn't. She is not the type of person to take part in such a hideous act. She's too kind and her soul is…" but she couldn't even believe what she was saying to Michael herself. Her own daughter had stolen the one item that was important not only to her, but the name of Ravenclaw. This story would live through the ages. All Ravenclaws would whisper this story to each other and hide their faces in front of other students, ashamed to be in Ravenclaw house. How could Helena do this to her? She couldn't believe it of her.

Her daughter's betrayal pierced her heart like a knife. She felt faint and her feet felt as thought they weren't standing on the Persian rug in her office but in mid-air. She started to sway and she collapsed on her bed, unmoving.

The hill that she was walking down was steep and, for fear of anyone seeing the diadem, Helena slid it into her robes. She was rushing and kept turning back her head back to see if anyone was watching her. The castle however seemed as empty as if no one were in it, and the grounds too, were uninhabited. She realized that there was a Quidditch game playing. Slytherin were playing against Hufflepuff. She stopped walking down the hill and turned her head left to see the Quidditch pitch overflowing in students and teachers excited to see their own houses or those that they support have a victory.

She saw the Baron solemnly walking up a hill about fifty or so meters away from her. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and continued walking. She didn't want to Baron to see her and strike up another mundane conversation. The gate was only a few meters away now and if she could reach it, she would be out of the boundaries of Hogwarts and free to Apparate to a secure place of her choice.

"Miss Ravenclaw!" she heard a familiar masculine voice shout. It was the Baron. His face lit up and his smile reached his ears when he saw her. "Ma'am I wondering if you would like to accompany me to the castle for a visit to the kitchens. Perhaps you fancy a warm mug of hot chocolate?" he asked, presumptuously. He was running toward her now and she had no choice but to sprint to the gate to finally be rid of him. While she was running, she glanced at the Baron and his smile was fading, his features becoming pale again. She felt a stab of guilt but could not just walk into the castle for hot chocolate while holding her mother's stolen diadem.

She waved at him half-heartedly and stepped through the gate. As soon as she was out of Hogwarts she Apparated and found herself in the square of a small village, primarily made of wood. People were walking by her wearing medieval armor and she noticed there were small kiosks surrounding the square, which was made of stone. She then noticed that there were more kiosks surrounding those that she saw. She leisurely strolled around the kiosks, in no particular direction so that she didn't seem suspicious. They were mostly made of wood and there were many people looking at the assortment of fruit and vegetables at one kiosk, and others were marveling the extraordinary jewelry that was for sale at another kiosk.

Her expression was calm as she walked through the first row of kiosks, then the second row, then the third. After the third row, there were only houses. Most of them were two-storey. She saw that the homes were placed very uniformly and there was an outlying trend. There were no roads. There were only rows and rows of houses, going on and on. As she walking past one home, she noticed a symbol on the door. An eagle. The symbol of her mother.

She knocked three times. Her knocks were addressed immediately by a short, fat woman with two children either side of her; a girl and boy. The boy was holding a wooden car and the girl was holding a doll that looked to be home made. The woman was blonde and red-face. She looked extremely flustered. She wore a white apron and was holding a pot. The two children standing either side of her had smiles on their faces as they looked at Helena Ravenclaw.

The woman started to speak in a funny language and a crease appeared between her eyebrows. She was clearly frustrated about the fact that she was interrupted.

"Hello, my name is Helena Ravenclaw. I was wondering why my mother's symbol is painted on your door?" she asked calmly.

The woman's eyes widened and she knew she shouldn't have said that she was the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw.

"It is pleasure to haf you in my house. Vood you like something to drink?" she asked, her English horrible.

"No ma'am. I was only wondering why you had that symbol on your door?" she asked again.

"My son," she pointed at the symbol, "go to Ravenclaw house. He say it very good!" she exclaimed, a smile lighting up her features, making her seem less frustrated and more kindly. Helena stepped over the threshold of the home.

"And I was wondering what this place is? I envisioned my friend's home in Scotland. Where am I?" she asked, for this strange place was not where she had planned to arrive. Perhaps her tension and nerves had clashed with her ability to Apparate.

"You are in Albanian village. Forest to the east. Village square behind you. City and chariot hire to the west," she replied. Helena stared at her in shock.

"Albania?" she asked.

"Yes my dear," replied the sweet Albanian woman.

"Oh, all right. Thank you!" she replied sweetly but the Albanian woman noticed the panic in her voice and squinted.

"Where you come from girl?" she asked, her tone was a bit vigorous now.

"Scotland, m'lady," replied Helena.

"Humph. Scotland very far away. You Apparate?" she asked.

"Well yes I did," she replied.

"Where you want to go? I take you," she offered her assistance.

"No thank you. I shall head for the forest although I advise you not to tell anyone if someone comes looking for me. Do you understand?" she asked, now towering over the woman.

She gulped, "Of course," was all she said before she nudged Helena out of the house and slammed the door in her face.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The Baron stopped in his tracks. What just happened? One moment he was making his impatient way over to Helena Ravenclaw and the next, he saw her Apparate after reaching the outskirts of the castle. Why had she left? Was it truly because she couldn't stand him so much or was there an underlying reason? He was again clobbered after reaching out to Helena with his feelings. He suspected that his time was up. She most likely thought of him as a sore loser who she couldn't shake off when he idolized and loved her. He hung his head and turned in the direction of the castle. There was a mildly steep hill that he had to walk up and he wanted to reach the castle before nightfall.

As he walked on the hard terrain, he began tot wonder about his situation with Helena. He couldn't bear to get clobbered by his one true love again. He tried to drop his feelings for her but he couldn't. They were just too powerful. He had an obsession with her that had spanned for years and he couldn't just give that up in a mere heartbeat. He finally found himself in the intimidating presence of the oak double doors of the castle. The sky was a very light blue as evening was beginning to set in. He pushed the doors open and entered into the dimly lit entrance chamber where he was staring the marble staircase head on.

He looked to his left and saw the rest of the school in the Great Hall, the sounds of jubilant laughter and a general aura of happiness flooded out of the hall. The Baron, however, was not feeling the happiness of the rest of the school and usually being the life of the party, he felt he would bring everyone else down so he proceeded to climb the staircase. He headed for his personal dorm and when he had finally reached the fourth floor, he turned left into the long hall with many paintings on the walls staring at him as he walked. The Persian rug under his feet felt comfortable compared to the flagged stone floor. He walked with his shoulders hunched.

"What exactly has the Baron of Slytherin, the one who is always overflowing with joy, in such a downcast mood?" asked one of the paintings, unsympathetically, bringing him out of his reverie.

"Oh nothing at all. I suppose the weather is having an effect on my mood," he replied, gloomily. The man in the painting shrugged and rested back in his chair, deciding that the Baron's problems were beyond his business.

He continued to walk down the hall, turning left at the end and turning left once again as he found himself facing the door of his room. He heard a rush of footsteps behind him and spun around. When he saw who it was, he shrugged his shoulders again and hung his neck. Perhaps Michael was running past him. Perhaps he was late for an occasion or had an errand to run; however he shouted at the Baron.

"Thank goodness there's someone here! Baron, I need your help. It's Miss Ravenclaw, sir. She's fainted and she won't awake. I've tried to wake her but it just won't work. Please sir, I truly need your help!" shouted Michael in a panic.

"Lead the way," was the only thing the Baron said but he was experiencing a million feelings. When they reached her office, he turned the rusty doorknob and the door opened into a scene of horror.

The Baron had imagined something less extreme than what he saw now. Rowena Ravenclaw was lying on her bed, her limbs widely sprawled. Her eyes were completely open as though she hadn't fainted but… no. He couldn't bear to even think about that. She was also extremely pale and the Baron turned to Michael for answers, still not shifting his gaze from the slim, ill-seeming body of Rowena Ravenclaw.

"When you arrived, had she already fainted?" he asked.

"No she… she fainted in my arms after…" he trailed off but the Baron was persistent.

"After what?" he asked, urgently.

"After Miss Ravenclaw had discovered that her daughter, Helena," the Baron's heart skipped a beat, "had stolen her prized diadem sir," finished Michael. The Baron stood as still as a statue, his eyes moving from Rowena to stare at Michael.

"She… She what?" asked the Baron, unable to comprehend what he had just heard.

"Helena sir, she stole the diadem," explained Michael once again. However, the Baron still couldn't understand, as though his brain rejected the notion.

"N-No… You are mistaken… Helena would not do something like that," said the Baron, seriously.

However Michael was confident that he knew it was Helena who stole the diadem. The way she acted when she had left the room was too suspicious and besides, her mother was unconscious during the time she was in there, so what was she doing?

"No I'm not. Rowena obviously thought so as well. That is why she fainted. She… She could not handle her daughter's betrayal," explained Michael, extremely sternly. The Baron was in shock. Helena Ravenclaw… involved in the crime of thievery? It could not be. However, Helena Ravenclaw was in Albania now, with nothing on her mind except the eradication of the diadem.

Helena Ravenclaw was walking through the wood village, in the direction of the forest. She could already see the high treetops and knew that this would be the best place to put the diadem and leave it there before it caused anyone else more sorrow, jealousy or guilt. After thinking the consequences of her decision to keep the diadem over, she realized that she would be unwelcome at Hogwarts if she refuses to give it up to her mother who will never trust her again. She would also be recognized as an outcast and a thief if she returned with the diadem on her head, as though it wasn't missing from one of the most powerful women of the age.

Upon considering these consequences, she formulated a new plan: to find a place to hide the diadem so that no one else could find it and that it would not cause any more trouble in the magical world. She was therefore, heading in the direction of the forest to find a random and ordinary tree to place the diadem in. As she approached the outskirts of the village and the entrance to the forest, she turned around and glanced back. She was walking along a wooden footpath that stretched all the way to the other edge of the village, which seemed huge now that she saw it from a proper perspective. She saw the houses were all facing the middle of the village where the village square was located. She thought that perhaps, if she didn't lead the life she led, this would have made a beautiful home.

Sadness appeared in her eyes as she realized the fact that she truly did have this life and she couldn't just run away from it and live in a village in Albania. She turned back towards the darkness of the forest, seeing the darkness of her own life reflected in the closely positioned trees and the creepy aura that the forest was giving off. It reminded her of the Forbidden Forest back at Hogwarts. She sighed as she continued her path. After stepping off the wooden pathway that she was travelling on, she came to bumpy terrain with rocks and clumps of dirt everywhere. Her shoes made it that much harder to walk on it and she so wished she had come wearing her day shoes.

She kept walking and she reached the first tree where she conjured an extremely long piece of string, of which one end she tied around the tree and the other, she tied around herself. If she could not find her way back out of the forest, she would not be able to Apparate out. She knew this because she could feel, sense even, the magic in the forest restricting her fro the general privileges of being a witch. She began her trek after securing the rope on the tree and herself and as soon and she stepped under the shade of the first tree in the forest, everything became darker and cooler.

She considered lighting up her wand and tried it to no avail. Could she even use magic in the forest? She tried to summon a stick.

"Accio!" she pronounced, pointing her wand at a random twig on the ground next to her feet. As expected, the twig rose into the air and flew straight into her hand where she caught it. So why couldn't she illuminate the unknown path that she was about to embark on? She couldn't do this blind. However just as the thought left her, a new one came in. Perhaps the wizards and witches of the town placed magic on the forest for it to be difficult for someone passing through to get their bearings. Essentially, magic was placed upon the forest to protect the village. Were there wizards in the village? And then she remembered the woman who guided her to the forest. Were these spells her doing?

Helena shook the thought from her head and became transfixed on what she needed to do: get into the depths of the forest, effectively hide the diadem, and then get out as quickly as possible. She took a step onto an again, unfamiliar terrain. It was dirt but it was as though someone had merely placed this dirt here today. It looked very moist and healthy… not as untended and untouched dirt in an Albanian forest would…

She let this thought slip from her mind and again focused her attention on the situation at hand. She was still staring at the peculiar dirt when she noticed something. There was dirt around her that was completely dark and this was the dirt that looked as though it had been there for years. She suspected that this was some sort of muggle snare to capture animals and tried to avoid these small, dark patches every now and again. She kept walking and heard a shuffle of dried leaves behind her. She became instantly petrified and stopped moving. She was now deep in the forest and if she turned around, it was most likely that she could not see the way she came or the light of the village. It was now nighttime and the stars were shining in the sky. Helena stood facing a thick tree and turned very slowly around.

As she turned, she saw a body shape in the corner if her eye. Was it a person? Perhaps it was a muggle traipsing through the woods on a night walk? But no, with her luck, it was a centaur. He towered over her and looked down his nose at her, an expression of hate and disgust on his face.

"What are you doing in these woods? This is centaur territory. Get out now!" He shouted the last word aggressively and Helena flinched. Her limp form was as insignificant compared to the centaur as a mouse is to an elephant. She gulped.

"My apologies. However, I-I have some b-business to attend to. And I-I'll be out of your forest as-as soon as possible. I ap-apologise for the inconvenience," she said, with a sincere expression on her face.

"I have no care for your unintelligent human errands. You all think that you're the superior race. Humans think that they rule all, even centaurs. But you're wrong. You're all just a bunch of egotistical and self-absorbed bastards who think you're better than everyone!" he shouted. His last sentence had an accent to it and she suspected that living in Albania and having to consort with Albanian wizards was getting to him. However there was one word that he used that made her particularly aggravated: unintelligent.

"What did you just call me? You scoundrel! You rotten piece of filth get out of my sight! Us humans are better, at least, than you centaurs who are good for nothing except causing a rouse! Incarcerous!" She screamed, pointing her wand directly at the chest of the centaur. The roped flew out of her wand and bound him tightly before he even comprehended what was happening.

"How dare you? This is blasphemy! This is immoral! How dare you bind up a centaur, you disgusting piece of filth? Untie me now and I may spare your life!" he screamed at her, however, she merely smiled.

"You don't understand. I have the upper hand now. I'm going to leave you here, centaur. And when your companions sense your disappearance and come to free you, tell them of how the great Helena Ravenclaw brought you down! Tell them how a 'mere human' incapacitated you!" she screamed in triumph. She then smiled at him, scooped up her now dirty robes from under her feet, turned on her heel and strolled off, leaving the centaur shouting for the rest of the herd to come and save him.


End file.
